Resume' help

This is a discussion on Resume' help within the Off Topic & Humor Discussion forums, part of the The Back Porch category; Does anyone know of a good website for building a resume? I'm finding that I need one to apply for some jobs online. I'm in ...

Resume' help

Does anyone know of a good website for building a resume? I'm finding that I need one to apply for some jobs online. I'm in the construction industry and have never needed one before, but the jobs that I'm after now are superintendent jobs. (Free would be nice as I'm kinda cheap)

"These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier
and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the
service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the
love and thanks of man and woman."

I can't help you on finding a resume template. I do have a little advice/suggestion. Keep in mind that many folks actually harm their job chances by putting stuff in a resume that is counterproductive, or by not being fully accurate, or by making typo and spelling errors.

If you can, get a good friend with a keen eye to look over what you come up with and critically look at it from the perspective of someone who does not know you.

Lots of new graduates will go on about their hobbies and their school activities and sometimes give away info about themselves they would have been better off to keep private. E.g., unless you know the employer, you don't want to go and say that your favorite hobby is shooting. Or worse, that you won't take a job if you can't keep a gun in your car. Believe me, folks make blunders like that all the time. Keep it straight and keep it simple. No fluff.

When I was looking for a job, I used a few different sites, plus Microsoft Word. It must have worked, because I only submitted resumes for 2 weeks before I got a good paying job in my field. I'm sorry, but I deleted my bookmarks. This is the only link I found going through my history, but it's a pretty good one. It has examples of resumes for different occupational fields and links to other resources.

I can't help you on finding a resume template. I do have a little advice/suggestion. Keep in mind that many folks actually harm their job chances by putting stuff in a resume that is counterproductive, or by not being fully accurate, or by making typo and spelling errors.

If you can, get a good friend with a keen eye to look over what you come up with and critically look at it from the perspective of someone who does not know you.

Lots of new graduates will go on about their hobbies and their school activities and sometimes give away info about themselves they would have been better off to keep private. E.g., unless you know the employer, you don't want to go and say that your favorite hobby is shooting. Or worse, that you won't take a job if you can't keep a gun in your car. Believe me, folks make blunders like that all the time. Keep it straight and keep it simple. No fluff.

+1000

Your resume should be work experience and education only. Nothing else. Your resume should be a set document that doesn't change between submissions, unless you have additional experience or education to add. You should write a cover letter tailored to each company you submit to. But Hopyard's comments hold true for the cover letter also. No mention of guns, partying, or anything unprofessional.

If you just remember that your cover letter and resume are the "first impression" a potential employer gets from you, and write it accordingly, you'll be fine.

+1 on that as well. And don't always rely on spell checkers, a word can be perfectly spelled, but wrong in context, "weather or knot you want it to be sew".

So, always have someone read it through, and then another person, if possible. A spelling or grammar mistake will always get a resumé filed in the wastebasket.

Good luck!

I agree to have multiple people review it. I write a lot of technical documents and the author will almost always not find all the mistakes. One method (God bless my Wife) is I read aloud to the wife and then I will generally find the mistakes. But reading it yourself you miss it.

I do disagree with you on a mistake getting a resume summarily rejected. Total carelessness absolutely. If you are applying as a writer then yeah poor form can be a death nail but I have reviewed hundreds of resumes most from BSEE, MSEE and a few with PhD's. I have seen PhD's in Phsics, Electrical Engineering and Math resumes done on pencil and paper with scratch outs. Dude has a =/> 3.5 GPA in Physics after 8 years of college we'll get him a tech writer. Likewise, in a tradesman, if his resume has the desired experience interview him for a review. If he knows his treade but not the tradecraft of writing then hire him.

I do disagree with you on the mistake getting a resume summarily rejected.

Yes, you are correct. It depends on the trade. I have received many resumés from prospective office workers, and if there are mistakes, I don't even bother going any further. I would assume that if I am looking for a tradesperson, I would lean more towards experience than spelling. But, that said, if I have two people with the same level of experience, I would choose the one with the neater resumé.